MOSQUE OF SULTANA VALIDE.       44

Sharp and high-prowed Arab barks, taking in their lading, and exposing their carved and gilded ornaments to the contact of the swift caiques that shoot along amont them, and the heavy clumsy-looking European boats constantly plying between the shore and the vessels to which they belong; local functionaries darting past on their errands of hidden import; the caique of the idler with its crimson carpet, its comfortable cushions, and its drowsy caiquejhes, awaiting, half asleep, the return of their lounging employer; the ferry-boat, with its dingy gilding, and eager owner; the well-kept and graceful caique of the princely harem, glittering with ornament and bright with beauty, bearing the veiled favourite and her muffled slaves to the other shore; the barge of the Minister, shooting over the water with the speed of a wild bird, and flinging the silver spray right and left like a shower of diamonds, as the sturdy rowers bend to their toil; - or, perchance, in the distance, even the passing bark of the Padishah (*) himself, on his way to the shady retreats of Kyat-Khana, moving along beneath the sunshine, one bright mass of glittering gold. And high above all this movement, and hurry, and human coil, towers the snowy temple of the unhappy Sultana Valide: near it sleeps in peace its imperial founder in her splendid mausoleum; and day by day the busy scene is renewed, the picturesque groupes are variously repeated, and the deep blue Heaven smiles down on all alike; while the clear surface of the port reflects at once the solemn Mosque, the quiet tomb, and the flitting shadows of each chance caique and its busy freight.

(*) Emperor

THE MOSQUE OF SULTAN ACHMET.

"The house of prayer profaned by words of strife -
The shrine of peace loud with unholy war -
The silent courts made vocal with the voice
Of human passion -----"

THE Mosque of Sultan Achmet, although less spacious than that of St. Sophia, and less elegant in its details than Suleimaniè, is superior to both in exterior effect. Its position is admirable; for the noble and well-shaded space in which it stands occupies a side of the Atmeidan, or Palace of Horses, one of the most elevated portions of the city, and is only separated from the ancient race-course of the Romans by a handsome wall of white marble, intersected with gilt railing.